8% of companies to freeze wages

If you want pay raise, go to Singapore-based firms.

According to a survey from Remuneration Data Specialists, 8% of the companies have frozen or plan to freeze wages, slightly higher than 3% last year; and none has cut or plan to cut wages. The wage increase this year (2012) will average 4.1%, similar to last year’s. Local companies will pay the highest increases (4.1 to 4.4%) while US and Asia Pacific companies the lowest (3.9%). In terms of size, large companies will pay the highest (4.3%).

Here's more from RDS:

For 2013, the wage increases are expected to remain the same as this year, around 4.1%.For 2013, the highest wage increase sector is services which expect to pay 4.5% to 4.8% while the lowest wage increase sector is the electronics manufacturing sector with only 3.1% to 3.5%.

Interestingly, the Construction & related sector, which employs the most foreign workers, expect to pay their non-executives 5.5% but only 3.7 % to their executives and managers.For this year 2012, the variables bonuses will average:

2.0 months for Managers
1.8 months for Executives
1.6 months for Non-executives.

Large companies will pay somewhat higher bonuses (2.1 to 2.5 months) thanthe medi um-sized and small companies. Local companies, on the other hand, expect to pay slightly more (1.8 to 2.2 months) than Asia Pacific, European, Japanese and US companies. In 2012, 90% of companies paid or plan to pay bonuses compared to 87% in 2010.

For next year 2013, not only are there less companies (75%) expecting to pay some form of bonus but the bonuses are expected to decrease slightly to an average of:

1.9 months for managers
1.7 months for executives and
1.6 months for non-executives.